I had a theme in mind for this first post, but due to a series of irritating technical problems, setting up the blog took rather longer than I expected. So, I decided to focus on women for whom technology was also an interest, and highlight some interesting 19th century scientists.
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| Caroline Herschel, German astronomer and discoverer of comets |
Caroline Herschel, an eminent astronomer at a time when it was a male preserve, she not only discovered a comet (which is named after her), in 1835 she also became the first woman to gain admittance to the
Royal Astronomical Society.
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| Portrait of Dr Elizabeth Garret Anderson, first British woman to qualify as a doctor |
Dr Elizabeth Garret Anderson became the first British woman to qualify as a medical doctor despite much opposition from the exclusively male medical establishment, who even went as far as changing entry rules to prevent other women training for apothecaries certificates. When Elizabeth later received her medical degree from the university of Paris, the
British Medical Register refused to recognise it.
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| Ada Byron aka Ada Lovelace, the world's first computer prgrammer |
Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace was encouraged to pursue the sciences by her mother who did not wish her to emulate her father, the notorious
Lord Byron. As an adult, Ada became a close friend of computer pioneer
Charles Babbage, and is credited with writing the first computer programme and also foreseeing the advent of computer composed music.
